Title: On the beachAuthor: kiraRating: OTWords: 573Characters: Jakotsu, BankotsuSummary: They boys spend a day on the beach, relaxing after a hard won battle Warnings: mention of deathAuthor's notes: Special thanks to Jen for pinking this for me! Also, this takes place before they formed the Shichinintai.

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Jakotsu walked along the shore, hand in hand with Bankotsu. The sand was still warm beneath his bare feet as the late July sun started to slowly sink towards the horizon. They had decided to stay behind and enjoy their portion of the spoils of war. The two of them wandered through the remains of the recent battle that had swept through the area. The day was hard fought, but they had been on the winning side once again. The beach was inviting for the most part, with most of the bodies having been retrieved by loved ones for burial. The remaining ones had either been swept out to sea, or in the case of a few poor bastards, left to rot in the sun and feed the sea birds. Jakotsu laughed, and letting go of Bankotsu's hand, he ran down the beach, scattering the gulls in his path. Bankotsu trotted after him, chuckling. Leave it to his friend and lover to have some childish fun amid the death and destruction that littered the beach. He watched as Jakotsu picked up the other side of his kimono, neatly tucking it into his obi, to wade out into the cool water.

"I want to go swimming, Aniki-chan!" he called out.

Bankotsu could hear the smile in his voice. He strolled over to him, waiting on the shore as the cross-dressed splashed his way over to him. The sand clung to his feet as Jakotsu hurried over to him.

"You coming too, Aniki-chan?" Jakotsu said impishly. He tugged on his obi, freeing the knot and letting the silken length fall to the sand. His kimono soon followed. His fingers fumbled with the ties on his armor. "Aniki-chan?"

Bankotsu chuckled and reached up to help him. He soon has the ties loosened and it was not long before Jakotsu's snakeskin armor joined his clothes on the sand. Clad only in his diaper-like fundoshi, the cross-dresser began to help him undress.

Giggling softly, Jakotsu soon had his friend, and lover, undressed as well. A quick tug on the ties of his fundoshi and Jakotsu was standing there naked. It was all the encouragement Bankotsu needed to remove his apron-like undergarment too. Taking Jakotsu's hand, they ran towards the ocean, laughing as they once again scattered the small flock of gulls.

The water was cold, and yet it felt good as they splashed and romped in the waves. While they played in the ocean, they were boys again, just having fun. They rode the waves on their bellies and splashed and dunked each other with a care in the world. It was as if they never had to deal with the day to day struggles of being mercenaries. It was just what they needed as they had planned to move on in the morning and find another army in need of their services. When they had had enough, they waded ashore and lay in the warm sand as the dying rays of the sun helped dry them off.

"That was fun, Aniki-chan."

"Yeah " Bankotsu agreed.

"Where're we going again, tomorrow?"

"Wherever we're needed, Sweetness. I figure we should try looking ten ri to the north and see what we can find."

"Sounds like a plan, Aniki-chan."

"Yeah "

They slowly dressed.

"Aniki-chan ?"

"Yeah...?"

"Let's do this again next time we find a beach, okay?"

"Okay " Bankotsu said as they headed off, looking for a place to spend the night